Become a Criminal Justice Professional in Iowa
There is no clear-cut path to becoming a criminal justice professional. The closest one comes to a clear path would be choosing a career, getting the education to match that career, and then getting started. However, even that may not be as simple as it seems. Many people go into criminal justice careers thinking they want to do one thing, but then discover that they would rather do something on the other end of the criminal justice spectrum. For example, a person may enter a criminal justice program thinking they want to be a police officer, just to find out that they would prefer to work as a social worker or probation officer. Although both fall under the criminal justice umbrella, they are vastly different career paths.
The first step to becoming a criminal justice professional is starting your education. By taking criminal justice courses, you should be able to determine what path you want to take or if your chosen path is the right one. Once you've zeroed in on the path you want to take, you should match your criminal justice courses so that you are provided the education you need to be successful in your chosen career.
Once you have attained the needed education, it's time to find the criminal justice job that suits you. In many cases, students who interned with an agency or an organization could be offered permanent positions within the organization. If this is not the case, then seek out agencies and organizations that offer the services you want to provide to the community. If you want to enter law enforcement, this will be a good time to start applying to academies in law enforcement. Police officers, state troopers, and sheriff's deputies all have to go through some sort of Police Academy, so find out which one matches the branch of law enforcement you're interested in and apply.
If you have other career goals within the criminal justice umbrella, at this point you should be getting all of your educational needs together and pursuing jobs in your desired industry. For example, if you want to work in cyber security, you'll need to have a criminal justice background, an information technology background, and possibly several certifications in information technology. Exact certifications will vary depending on what area of security you want to enter. Once you have the needed education and certifications, you are ready to pursue a career as a cyber security analyst.
Those who wish to become CIA, FBI, Secret Service, or other specialized agents must follow the requirements of the agency they wish to enter. All of them provide information on training requirements on their respective websites.